The heartwarming British drama Fisherman’s Friends has found itself a new UK streaming home – or more like it’s come back home. The 2019 film, which was removed from the Channel 4 app just over a month ago, is now available to watch on the Channel 4 platform again.
Based on real-life events, the film tells the story of a group of Cornish fisherman who get signed to a record label. Although their signing is initially part of a prank, and their salt-of-the-earth nature clashes with that of their high-flying manager’s, they work through their issues and go on to have a top 10 album of sea shanties.
The film features a stacked British cast including Daniel Mays, James Purefoy, Dave Johns, Sam Swainsbury, and Tuppence Middleton.
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As is usual when Channel 4 airs a film or TV show, Fisherman’s Friends is only on the streaming app for a limited time, with 25 days left at the time of writing. However, as it’s been re-aired and subsequently re-added multiple times since it was first shown on the network, you wouldn’t expect it to be gone from the app for too long.
While it seems to be a perennial favourite of Channel 4 watchers, critics were a bit cooler on Fisherman’s Friends when it first came out. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 69% rating from 58 collected reviews.
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The Guardian‘s review reads: “This gentle, sweet-natured comedy has warmth and a certain X factor of likability, helped by big-hearted performances from a cast including Daniel Mays and Tuppence Middleton.”
On the old Kermode & Mayo show on BBC Radio 5 Live, Mark Kermode said the film “embraces you like a warm sweater”, a sentiment echoed by the LAist FilmWeek podcast likening the film to “an old warm blanket”.
Fellow veteran critic Susan Granger wrote that you should like Fisherman’s Friends “If you enjoyed The Full Monty and Calendar Girls and you’re looking for a charming, uplifting, British romantic comedy with a surprising emotional wallop”.
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A sequel titled Fisherman’s Friends: One and All was released in 2022, with most of the main cast reprising their roles from the first movie. Screenwriters Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard also returned for the follow-up film.
Set almost a year later, the story sees the protagonists struggling with the pressures and temptations of their newfound fame as they prepare for their big 2011 gig at Glastonbury.
Digital Spy’s review called the sequel “a funny and poignant return for the world’s oldest buoy band”.
Fisherman’s Friends is currently available on the Channel 4 app. The sequel Fisherman’s Friends: One and All is not currently on the service.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I’m a Fish.